[wild west music playing]
[narrator] they called it the wild west.
When the first big gold rush busted out in nome,
people flooded to these shores,
willing to do anything for the chance to get rich.
Die for it,
they'd even kill for it.
Now that fever's hitting nome all over again.
For the first time in decades,
the richest claims in town are back on the market
and all of that gold is suddenly up for grabs.
[shawn] with gold prices
the highest they've ever been in history.
There's a rush of miners everywhere you turn
looking to get in on that turf war.
No doubt, the wild west is back.
[intense music playing]
[narrator] nome, alaska,
the largest offshore gold deposits in the world.
For over a century, miners have battled
for fortune using custom-built contraptions,
diving for hidden gold on the bering sea floor.
But this summer, a rare opportunity
has opened up the richest grounds in nome
that were previously off limits.
[woman] leases had either returned to the state
or remained unsold prompting the dnr
to offer new leases for sale this year.
[narrator] for the first time in years,
contracts on prime ocean claims are set to expire,
freeing them up for sale on the open market.
[woman] the state has been accepting bids
on those parcels for the last two months.
[narrator] now, miners of all stripes
suddenly have a chance to buy their own piece of the pie.
Those, as offshore mining ground,
are available for the first time in a decade.
Okay.
[narrator] seasoned miners and average joes
all jockey for position,
sparking a claim war on the golden battlegrounds.
Price of gold hits an all-time high topping
$2,000 an ounce.
[narrator] and with gold prices the highest
they've been in history, staking a claim
could make outlaws multimillionaires overnight.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] two miles from shore.
[shawn] big season this year, a lot's going on.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] the man they call "mr. Gold",
captain shawn pomrenke is looking to take over nome.
[shawn] this winter was really good.
I bought the tomcod
and I have a huge payment on that.
If I don't make the payment
and it goes back to the owner
and then he can resell it,
but I'm not gonna let that happen.
[narrator] this past winter, shawn secured
the most lucrative claim in the game,
the 1,000 acre, 1.6-million-dollar tomcod,
and now he's aiming to lasso the most gold
anyone's ever seen in a single season.
[shawn] we need to get on it
because there is a mountain of work.
I'm gonna make sure I keep the tomcod.
I'm not letting it get thrown to the wolves.
The prices of gold are outrageous,
so I have a three-prong plan of attack
to capitalize on it.
First I'm gonna get the cr and the gold,
grind around on the clock to secure the tomcod claim.
Either it's gonna make me or break me.
Second, I'm gonna buy out the old man.
I wanna own the inland mine outright.
[shawn] and the third is the big one.
[intense music playing]
[shawn] I'm gonna take out the competition
by taking over the competition.
I'm gonna try and convince dave young to partner up,
let me redesign the myrtle and run it.
That thing has so much untapped potential.
I can make a killing with dave if I pull this off.
[narrator] taking over the myrtle
would eliminate shawn's biggest competitor,
giving him control of the largest dredge
on the bering sea
and making him the undisputed king of nome.
But only if he can close the deal.
[shawn] if we can do 300,000 in a week
with the christine rose,
we should be able to do
close to a million in a week with the myrtle irene.
I think with that dredge set up the right way
and with the right modifications,
I'll be crushing the competition.
Now I just gotta convince dave
and that will be the trifactor.
[intense music playing]
hey, dave.
What's up?
[shawn] I got a few ideas.
Just kind of wanted to run them by you.
I see the myrtle sitting there
I've been driving by at all winter
looking at it and I think
I'd be interested in running it.
I know I can handle it, I just...
I think that there's a quite a few improvements
I'd like to do to it to get it up the snuff
to where it needs to be, at least to my standards,
I think we could produce a lot more.
We put a ton of money in it last year,
I think it's running fine the way it is.
Yeah, well I think it could run way better.
Need to sell dave on this.
I get hooked up with the myrtle,
it's gonna be a game-changer.
I'll be like king kong on top of the empire state building,
nothing will stop me.
I'll tell you what, why don't you draw
something up and give me a proposal
and I'll look at it.
I'm not saying we're gonna do it.
But if you draw something up, we'll definitely look at it.
You know, I don't know if we can afford you.
Well, uh, you can't afford to lose me.
[laughs]
[shawn] I have the richest claim in nome
and I also built one of the best dredges in nome.
I'm gonna draw up some plans
that will knock dave on his ass.
This thing will work,
-well, it's... Man... -I'll make it work.
I'mma get you a set of drawings,
see what you think,
then we can talk again.
I'll consider it.
Okay. Sounds good.
-Yeah, thanks. -Yeah.
[upbeat music playing]
dave didn't say no.
I wanna take this company to the next level.
Yeah.
[narrator] six miles outside of town,
far off the beaten path.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] you can take the man out of nome.
I had a bunch of saw dust up my nose.
[narrator] but there is no taking nome out of the man.
[zeke] one at a time.
That'll work.
[narrator] after years away, the lure of nome's land grab
has proven too tempting to resist
for mining legend zeke tenhoff.
[zeke] I traveled around the world a bunch,
that was fun.
I also tried over the last of years
to do a little bit of a career change
and live in some other places and, I don't know,
it wasn't for me.
It's kind of hilarious to think
that I can live any more but here in nome
and to think that I could do anything
but, uh, gold mining.
The price of gold is at an all-time high.
Claims that were not very valuable a few years ago
are gonna be insanely valuable
as the price of gold goes up.
But at present, I need to get back in the water.
Gold mining is in my blood,
it's the only thing that I've found
that I felt that I was good at.
I love dreaming about equipment
and dreaming about different machines
and different boats that I could put together
and I'm like fairly mechanically inclined.
Let's fire it up.
[narrator] zeke's mining roots began over a decade ago,
on the humble suction dredge, the clark,
along with childhood friend emily riedel.
[zeke speaking]
[emily speaking]
[zeke] let's do this.
[narrator] over the years.
[zeke] it's being our first time
running two sluices at the same time.
So we're gonna have double gold today.
[narrator] zeke grew his operation
through innovation,
thinking outside of the box.
[zeke] laying down glow sticks on the trajectory
that I know the gold to be going.
[narrator] and emerging
as nome's resident mad scientist.
Boom, right there.
Copper hole melting device.
I think we'll be in business.
[narrator] and now, amidst the frenzy
of nome's claim war
and world record gold prices,
he attempts his most ambitious creation to date.
[zeke] my endgame has been for a long time
to get this sailboat in the water
and turn it into a gold-mining sailboat.
Having a gold-mining sailboat is a huge, huge venture.
Nobody else has done that, nobody's ever done that.
It's gonna be super awesome.
I've had the sailboat in my yard
for, like, seven years now.
And I have a lot of the big
picture problems resolved.
Um, I got my pump engine right there.
I think it's a good spot for it.
I have my outward bolted up there.
I got my mast sitting on the ground there
on the other side.
[narrator] zeke's new design could be a huge upgrade
from the many platform dredges
to populate the bering sea.
The 29-foot sailboat can accommodate
a small crew for days on the water.
While its sails and durable build
will allow zeke to cruise more remote grounds
away from the flux of miners closer to the shore.
[zeke] I can be totally autonomous
and live on the water
and go as far as I want in any direction to get gold.
I'm gonna go take a bunch of claims
and we're gonna build a portfolio of claims.
There are definitely people that think
I'm taking on too much,
it's like too many things
to put together into one endeavor.
Yeah, I'm not... I'm not an experienced sailor
and a gold dredge is a tough thing
to incorporate into a sailboat.
People that doubt that
a sailboat dredge is a good idea
will motivate me to pursue it even further.
So welding, welding this off, that's what I gotta do next.
[upbeat music playing]
I wish I had like a... Like a helper here
that could like be working on this stuff
right now with me.
But I don't, right now,
it's just me and this is what I gotta do.
Gold prices are going through the roof right now
and the more time that I spend
tinkering around with this boat,
the more I'm missing out on, and at this point
I still have a lot of work left to do.
Everything I've done up to now
has kind of just led me to position myself
where I am right now which is I'm really well-positioned.
I have a super dope gold mining sailboat
and the price of gold is going through the roof.
But so many parts and pieces that need to come together
and work together on this boat.
I'm eager to get more help.
[narrator] as zeke readies his creation...
[intense music playing]
[narrator] outside nome...
[kris] right now I'm heading out to this barn
in the middle of nowhere to meet with my dad's brother
and we're gonna talk about my plan to go to elim
because I don't really want too many people
to hear what we're gonna do.
[narrator] kris kelly is ready
to put his summer battle plan into action.
[kris] ice mining was a long hard struggle
this season but we made our goal,
you know, we made the goal to do my next adventure.
[narrator] since coming to nome seven years ago
with million dollar dreams...
We're gonna get some gold.
[narrator] ...The journey has mostly been a nightmare
for the kellys.
[man] [bleep] beach.
[kris] this isn't [bleep] fair, man, this isn't fair.
[narrator] but through it all,
kris always found a way to persevere.
We made over our goals.
[man] this is the most gold I ever made in my life.
High-fives for everybody.
[narrator] and now they may finally be
on the road to success.
[kris] we had every kind of obstacle
thrown in our face this winter,
family breakdowns.
Oh, I have enough of your [bleep]
good, go, you're a waste of [bleep] time anyways.
Equipment failure.
Oh, we just lost to our entire winter binding operation.
[bleep]
sharks, okay, maybe not sharks.
But that [bleep] went to [bleep]
and we still hit our goal.
Now we can rent the boat of my dreams
and we can travel up the coast safely, hell, yeah.
Probably make more gold than I ever have
in my entire life and we're going to stake some claims
and be millionaires for the rest of my life.
I'm working after my retirement.
[narrator] while throngs of miners fight for claims
near town, kris is venturing to uncharted waters
120 miles east toward elim
where he believes untapped golden pastures await.
[upbeat music playing]
[kris] trying to sell my dad with...
And brother with this [bleep]
it's been a little bit hard.
Nobody really wants to go
on a hundred and thirty-mile death trip.
But this year, I made a deal.
[kris] we got this deal with the norpac
the badass houseboat-looking thing.
We're gonna go and live in style down there.
The real problem is...
[car tire screeches]
tell me we don't have a [bleep] flat tire.
For the love of god, if we have a flat tire...
[car door creaks]
[screaming]
[producer speaking]
we have a flat tire.
[upbeat music playing]
I do have a backup plan, you know,
we can just air up the tires and we can keep driving.
[upbeat music playing]
[kris] you have to admit, it's kind of funny.
Going on this big thing adventure of my life,
and we make all kinds of money,
and here I am filling up my tire
on the side of the road.
No big deal.
I'm not gonna let this get me down.
I'm gonna stay positive.
I'm gonna stay so freaking positive.
A smile will be tattooed on my face.
[bell dings]
[kris] this year is gonna be the starting
of something great for me
as soon as I fill the tire up and get to this meeting.
[ominous music playing]
[narrator] the bering sea's richest claims
are being sold to the highest bidder.
So now, miners converge on nome
all willing to shell out cash
for a piece of the action.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] on the road up to coast...
[emily] my goal last season was to make enough gold
to purchase a second dredge
and that's a part of the future plan,
but right now it's about new ground
and getting as much gold as possible.
[narrator] emily riedel steered away
from her winter goal of buying a second dredge.
[emily] price of gold is so high,
there's a lot of energy in the air.
It's never been a better time to be a gold miner.
[narrator] instead, she's using her loot
to break into the claim game.
But she'll need at least another 75 ounces
to pull it off.
[emily] I want to get as much gold as possible.
I've spent up the year in nome
and I've been paying hundreds of ounces
in royalties since I've been mining 14.
It's time to get my own claim with my own gold.
[singing]
[narrator] when emily began her nome journey
a decade ago mining was just a temporary job
to raise some cash.
[emily] any money that I have is gonna go
towards opera school in europe.
[narrator] but once smitten with gold fever,
emily changed her tune,
eventually starting an operation of her own.
[crowd cheering]
[narrator] and this summer, she's aiming even higher.
[emily] this is the time to invest
in a profitable piece of ground.
I've got some gold saved up from my years
of operating up here and I need to have,
like, 75 ounces more.
But the competition is already high this year
to find good ground.
I've gotta really do my diligence here,
do the research before I make any kind of investment.
This is the map for the lease tracks offshore in nome.
And it seems like everybody is either flocking west.
I prefer to be where nobody else is.
I prefer to, kind of, step outside of the box
and be on the lease that nobody else
is even thinking about.
And, you know, these leases down
east of the nome river have been largely abandoned
over the last couple of years.
There's three claims that I'm particularly
interested in and I know are available.
There's six,
and three,
and four.
[narrator] while most of the action in the turf war
is unfolding in the west,
emily is looking eastward to once gold-rich claims
that lie mostly forgotten
and could be diamonds in the rough.
[emily] first, I wanna, kinda, just go poke around
on these claims.
Just do a little bit of prospecting.
Do a little process of elimination.
I'm curious about six.
I've heard reports of decent gold found there,
so that's the only claim I know anything about.
Buying a claim is like buying a house.
You know what your budget is.
You know what you're looking for.
You know what your bottom line is.
And buying a claim is the biggest purchase
I've ever made. So, I had to be smart about it.
I had to make sure that my money
is going to something that's gonna produce for me.
I'm, kind of, like, eager to get going,
so I'm gonna load up and head down east.
It's gonna be a great year.
[narrator] as emily gears up to scout new ground...
[showdown western music playing]
[narrator] ...Two miles west...
[steve] price goes up, new gold rush.
[showdown western music playing]
[narrator] another riedel is already
on the dusty trail into town.
I'm gonna make it happen. Woo-hoo.
[narrator] emily's dad, and nome's
most unconventional, unpredictable miner is back.
There's probably 50 new miners in town right now, 51 now.
But I'm back.
I'm back, nome. I'm back.
Woo-hoo. Steve's back.
[narrator] with stars on his hat and in his eyes,
this summer, steve riedel is aiming for the top.
[steve] man, I got a backpack and I'd have...
I have a few dollars in my pocket.
[narrator] but he is starting from the bottom.
[steve] I have a plan.
Nome is a place for a plan.
Nome is a place for a man with a plan.
I'm gonna make it here.
It's a lot of hard work
is what it's gonna take, lots and lots of hard work.
I've got big plans.
I'm gonna get my own claim,
my own boat, my own crew.
Okay, I'm a little money shy.
I need a big stash.
I need to get a big pile of money.
I'll be king of my own empire sooner or later.
I gotta get some scratch.
Gotta get a place to live.
We're gonna get the gold.
We're gonna get to middle class.
We'll get to running water.
Toilet, indoor, sky is the limit.
Right now, I don't have a lot of wealth,
but I have a wealth of knowledge about gold mining
and about being in nome.
I mean, I'm not finding any gold,
but I'm having a ball.
I'm the king of the world.
I'm the king of the iceberg.
Hit one for me. I dare you.
[narrator] the older riedel's previous efforts
to make it in nome haven't exactly been...
Who in the [bleep] is the captain?
-[man] calm down. They'll... -No!
-[narrator] ...Golden. -[man] kris.
[kris] yeah [bleep] you.
-[woman] well [bleep] you. -[steve] okay.
Yeah [bleep] you right back.
-Is that really necessary? -Yeah... No.
[narrator] and fortune has proven elusive...
The bering sea doesn't giving up gold easily.
-Oh, hey, you... -It's your own [bleep] fault.
-Now, get the [bleep] out. -[steve] I'm leaving.
Please don't yell at me.
Cold means gold, so take that cold
and turn it into gold.
[man speaking]
[narrator] ...With a few bridges burned along the way.
I mis-stepped...
[steve] you were gonna miss me.
...Bringing my dad up to nome.
[steve] I've got some rocks in my shoes.
Oh, hey.
Ooh, you don't just throw rocks away in nome.
There might be some gold in here.
Nope.
Okay.
I came here 2011.
Broke.
No, no hope, nothing,
and I left pretty much broke,
but I had lot fun.
I got some gold and I learned
four years of gold mining lessons.
So I'm hoping to take those lessons and, uh...
And make my mark.
There's lots of gold to be made.
Well, it's time to get to work in nome,
but the first thing I gotta do is get a ride.
I'm back nome. I'm back.
[truck honking]
[steve] I need wheels. I need wheels.
[old western music playing]
[narrator] a mile south in town...
[vernon] let the summer begin.
I'm like, gonna keep going until they roll me
into a hole in the ground.
[country music playing]
[narrator] captain vernon adkison enters the fold
and he's already one step ahead
of the competition.
[vernon] the one good thing about winter
is I got in some good prospects and...
But I damn sure didn't get enough
to make me happy.
I ended up selling 16 to a friend of mine,
who took a little commission off the top.
So, as far as I'm concerned, I've pretty much
got a bad hog [bleep] on that one.
And plus I ended up with what I'm now considering
to be the best lease track out of the bunch.
Number 56.
I have to dig deep to pay for it.
[narrator] after a winter spent gunning for claim 16,
vernon did a little horse trading
and he's landed one of the most
sought-after claims on the bering sea.
Old 56.
[vernon] I've talked to several people
who have dredged on it, who I know to be
amongst the best divers in nome.
So I got myself a raw gold bank
on the bottom of the bering sea.
And all I got to do is go out there
and make my withdrawals.
I took a big bite out the apple
and I'm feeling the pinch,
but opportunities like this
come up once in a lifetime if at all.
It's what gold miners like me live for,
I'd be a fool or a coward if I didn't move on it.
[man] whoa.
[vernon] it's gonna be a big payday.
-A humungous payday. -[man] going down.
[narrator] the veteran skipper is no stranger
to rolling the dice.
[woman] every time I open this mailbox,
it's the bills, bills, bills.
[narrator] safe to say, the gambles
have seldom paid off.
[man] damn it.
[man speaking]
[man] no.
[narrator] but that hasn't stopped him
from making his biggest wager yet.
[vernon] I think the western limit of 56
is right about here.
I gotta go out a quarter of mile
and it goes for damn near a mile beyond that.
It's quite a big lease, 375 acres.
One quarter square mile is 40 acres [bleep].
It's a big lease, big lease.
Right now, I'm getting my team assembled
which is proving difficult.
Crewing up is a big problem.
To make the most out of 56,
I'll need an all-star team.
And right now, I don't have anybody.
My daughter, elaine, she wasn't be able to make it.
Gary, he's my ace.
I'm hoping he'll be back up here this summer.
He swore up and down he'd be here,
but so far, uh, no gary.
[phone ringing]
[gary] yeah, hello?
[vernon] yeah. Hey, gary.
[gary] hey, vernon.
[vernon] so, what's the word?
[gary] I'm probably not gonna be able to go up.
I hate to go back on my word, but I really do feel
like my family here right now needs, um...
[vernon] yeah.
All right, gary. So, um...
[gary] yeah. You betcha. All right.
-Sorry. -Yup.
[gary] all right. Bye-bye.
All right. Bye-bye.
Damn it.
Okay. He's not coming up here.
I'm not gonna beg him,
kind of, leaving me in the lurch,
but that's okay.
I'll work around it.
Yeah, this is not the way to start the season.
I'm on the best claim of my life.
I got creditors nipping at my ass,
but no crew.
Everyone and their mothers up here
trying to get rich.
There's gotta be some good new blood out there,
at least I hope so.
[bleep] bite my ass.
[engine revving]
[vernon] I'm on a search for a unicorn,
multi-talented diver, mechanic, boat person.
[narrator] in nome, the influx of miners
in the market for claims,
has lit a fire under the fleet.
[tense music playing]
[engine revving]
[shawn] yeah.
[narrator] and mr. Gold is ready to kick his summer
into high gear.
[engine revving]
[shawn] I got another payment coming up for the tomcod.
If I don't pay it, I lose it.
[tense music playing]
[shawn] dave asked me to draw up some plans.
He's not totally onboard yet,
but first things are first,
I still got a lot to pay on the tomcod,
and I still gotta pay for the inland mine.
I need a lot of gold and I need it in a hurry.
A lot of iron right here.
Usually, that's a good sign.
But when it comes to gold,
I know just where to look for it.
So, this winter with the tomcod,
I got drill logs
and there is hints
to an old riverbed that runs through the tomcod.
And I believe this is the start of it
where it comes out and goes into the tomcod.
Tomcod's right there...
954 grams.
Drill logs are basically a map of all the hotspots.
That's a pretty damn good drill hole.
And this winter, the drill logs
were a godsend.
[man speaking]
[shawn] found some of the best gold in my life
right around 30 feet.
[man speaking]
[man] yeah.
[shawn] it was an ancient riverbed
just caked with chunky gold.
[man] yeah.
[shawn] planning on bringing the christine rose out
and get in on this old riverbed,
get it on some good gold.
[narrator] the arm of the christine rose
maxes out at 19 feet.
Far short of the depth, mr. Gold dove this winter
when he uncovered the ancient riverbed.
Shawn's theory is that this depression on the beach
is where the ancient riverbed starts.
So he's planning to use
these two points to locate an area
within the christine rose's reach
where he just might be able to pick up
on the riverbed's trail.
And with the most ambitious slate
in his career on tap,
this summer, shawn has no margin for error.
[shawn] I didn't work this hard all these years
to lose it now.
If it all works out, I'll be set.
My family will be set.
If it don't,
I'll have to start all over.
Hopefully, this riverbed pays off.
[engine revving]
[narrator] 28 miles east...
Now, we're back on course
to the biggest adventure of my life.
We're ready to rock and roll.
I'm gonna go talk to my dad and bother
and get this meeting going
and tell him how much gold we're gonna make,
and everything is gonna be good.
Just trust me.
[narrator] kris kelly's pumped up
and en route to pitch his plan of a lifetime.
[kris] right now, we're meeting out
in the middle of nowhere so nobody hears my plan.
I want this to be a surprise that I go, bam,
and I show up to elim
and I start staking everything.
We get nothing but huge amounts of gold.
I'm gonna make this work no matter what.
[door opens]
[old western music playing]
[brad] so what's the plan? What's your big plan?
[kris] we're gonna get to elim as quick as we can.
There's still lot of gold in nome,
especially that tomcod where shawn is.
There's still a lot of ways to make gold,
but I'm never gonna own a claim
within a hundred miles on each way of nome.
The truth, we're never gonna own [bleep]
and you're nothing without your own claim.
[brad] what makes you think
that it's prosperous down there?
What makes you think that?
Our records show from a,
like, a hundred and twenty years of mining
that there's never been a gold strike
on the east side of garvey mountains.
Nobody's mined anywhere near that
since 1920 when world war I started.
I know people around that area and they tell me for sure
it's all cobble.
I've done a couple months of research.
I've really checked this spot out.
This is where we're gonna stake our claim.
This is how I'm gonna make it up here.
I may not be a genius, but I know how to find gold.
It's really important right now
that we're all on the same page
and we're all willing to make this work.
How many miles do you think to there?
So, it's about a hundred and thirty miles to elim
as the bird flies.
[tense music playing]
it's a long way.
The norpac will get us there...
-And where do we go? -It's a houseboat,
it's a bathroom, it's a kitchen,
it's everything you need.
But as you can see, we gotta go around
a lot of different places, so it's probably gonna be
like a hundred and fifty, a hundred and sixty miles.
Okay. Well, now that's our biggest problem
that I see.
About 20 miles away,
there's a walrus sanctuary.
So, I've never...
Those sons of a bitch are territorial.
Yeah. They're territorial, they're big, they're mean.
They've got tusks on them like these [bleep] big.
They got [bleep] on them that big.
You better watch out down there.
Yup. So anyways,
everything we've been doing in the last four years,
living at the bluffs, these crazy ice missions
launching off the shore.
This is all been working
towards the master plan of elim.
Okay. So that's it?
It sounds like a million dollar idea.
You've done a wonderful job.
I could be rich in the end.
Hell, let's go.
[intense music playing]
[kris] my dad and brother are onboard
and I can't believe we're gonna finally do this.
We're gonna make our mark for once and all.
All for once.
I'm dyslexic.
I know it's gonna work in my heart.
We just have to make it work.
And we have to get back safely.
And we have to not get eaten by walruses and taken away.
[flat tire hissing]
ooh, la-la.
Something about the smell of markers.
Hi, and welcome to another episode
of kris kelly's secret guide to successful mining.
Today, we're gonna be talking about mining etiquit.
Etiquette. Etiquette.
Etiquette. Etiquit.
[upbeat music playing]
[kris] e-t-I-q-u-e-t-t-e.
It's not the right word.
Shows you how often I use that word.
Mining etiquette.
[thud]
[bleep]
number one is distance.
When people are out there and they're on gold,
if you come next to them,
they're gonna run out of their [bleep] house like a dog.
-You know [mimics barking] -[dog whines]
so you know what? Make sure you stay
more than a hundred feet away.
Don't even [bleep] go near them.
So topic number two is buoys.
How do you spell buoy?
That can't be buoy.
[producer speaking]
oh. After they're done working the day,
a lot of people will throw a buoy out there
to tell anybody else, "don't mine here."
[buzzer buzzes]
the problem is it's like a [bleep] arrow
pointing right to gold.
[bell dinging]
[kris] so, you know, that's at your own discretion.
Moving on.
Other people's sluice boxes.
Back in the day, there was a law
that if you got caught
looking at another man's sluice box,
he could shoot you and it's 100% legal.
[gunshots]
[kris] today in alaska, we don't do that.
We just smash your teeth out.
[grunts]
number six with mining etiquette.
Don't talk about how much gold you're getting
in the bar.
[kris] you had a great day, you killed it,
you gotta hide those emotions
and you gotta tell them we're not getting [bleep].
I'm not saying don't trust them
because they're great guys,
but I'm just saying don't trust them,
you know what I'm saying?
And that's it for this episode
of kris kelly's secret guide to successful mining.
I mean, remember, everybody, be nice.
[producer speaking]
no. No experience.
No, I don't know.
[buzzing]
[narrator] nome, alaska is buzzing.
[upbeat music playing]
[zeke] wait, what's nine plus nine?
Nine... Wait, nine and a half is 19,
so 19 and a half.
[narrator] and the activity is swarming around mad scientist
zeke tenhoff's groundbreaking sailboat dredge
as he tries to get it on the water asap.
[zeke] this boat needs to get in the water, like, yesterday.
I still got, like, pretty serious laundry list
of little projects that I have to do.
Right now, the sailboat is sitting on the ground
in my front yard 10 miles away from town.
First order of business
is to get the sailboat on a trailer
and into town to the harbor.
Before I can make that happen,
we have to lift the whole boat up,
so the bottom of the keel is five feet above the ground
and that's a huge project.
I've got a lot of pallets and I think
that I would just have to use a lot of pallets
-to make it sturdy enough. -[car horn honking]
sturdy and strong enough, so, um, I know it'll work.
-It's just... -[car horn blaring]
...Gonna look a little dicey probably at times.
[zeke] yeah. Hey, guys.
You're here. Fantastic.
-[raven] zeke. -[sam] what's up, man?
I put a bat signal out for some help,
and my prayers were answered, and I have help.
-It's good to see you, bud. -[shawn] it's been forever.
-[zeke] good to see you, bud. -[shawn] oh, yeah.
-[sam] good to see you, man. -[zeke] yeah, raven, give me a hug.
[zeke] yeah, now you see, so you saw this boat before,
but I've been pretty busy the last...
The last several months here. I've done a lot.
Yeah. You know where the fun when you tried
to explain sailboat gold dredge to me
and I had a picture in my head.
I thought maybe like a mix between waterworld
and mad max and it looks like
you might have hit the nail on the head.
[zeke] my brother sam is an amazing musician.
♪ you want it, she bumped with her ♪
[zeke] he's pretty good in the accordion,
he's better playing at piano,
and he's got a really good singing voice.
Sam's bass and guitar player, raven,
is gonna be on our crew as well.
They're pretty far out of the box
guys for sure.
Oh, there. Hi dad. How's it going?
Yeah. I have some fatty nails on that thing.
[zeke] and with my dad around,
we can make some magic happen here.
He knows how sailboats work.
He's got a lot of experience and I'm going to do
everything I can to learn from him.
I could delegate labor, divide and conquer.
We can get a lot more done than I was able
to get done by myself.
The price of gold went up
to a hundred dollars just today.
Let's get this boat in the water.
Gold stress is high.
Pressure's on.
[zeke] I met a guy who has a trailer.
Trailer is four feet tall though,
so we're gonna have to lift the boat up
like four feet up into the air.
While I'm working on this,
you guys could be like jacking the boat up
and put the pallets under.
I'm gonna get my welder set up
and finish welding up the exhaust.
I'm gonna put the heat exchanger.
-All right. Sounds good. -[zeke] sweet, let's do it.
-[zeke speaking] -[sam] yeah.
Cool.
[raven] I have to do a little stretching
after that plane ride.
[cutter whirring]
[intense music playing]
[electricity buzzing]
here we've got some stack fodder.
Dunnage if you will.
Dunnage is one of my favorite words
because not only is it fun to say,
but it pertains to really important stuff.
[raven speaking]
[sam laughing]
[raven speaking]
[zeke] I like it.
[raven] yeah, not so bad.
[zeke] because this boat needs to get in the water here
within the next couple days.
And, uh...
What the [bleep]
[laughs]
[sam] we're gonna do it
whatever way we need to do it to make it happen.
[zeke] shouldn't be a problem,
-but I'm so glad you guys are here. -[sam] yeah.
[narrator] while one miner gets his team together,
-seven miles southwest... -[phone rings]
[woman] I'm sorry. The person you were trying to reach
has a voice mailbox that had not been set up yet.
[vernon] what the [bleep]
[narrator] vernon adkison's still working
on corralling a crew worthy of working
on the wild ranger.
[vernon] price of gold and all these claims
coming up, it's a madhouse up here.
Most of the best crews that actually made it to nome,
they've all been gobbled up.
[woman] hello?
Yeah, hey, vernon adkison here.
But, you know, right now, I got a few leads,
we'll get rolling here pretty quick
with another a team, a new... Brand new a team.
I was wondering when you're getting into nome.
[woman] when am I getting into nome?
[vernon] mmm-hmm.
You gonna come up here and dive with us.
[woman] oh, no, no.
I don't think I will do.
You don't think so?
Mmm-hmm. Bye-bye.
[woman] all right. Bye-bye.
[vernon] oh, boy.
We've scratched her off the list,
and then we'll go back to the drawing board.
We'll just keep going down my list,
next up is gary's sister, jenny.
[jenny] hello?
Yeah. Hey, jenny, vernon here.
[jenny] hey, vernon.
I got a...
If I can't have gary up here.
She's the next best thing.
[jenny] oh, yeah, I can't do...
I'm not gonna be able to make it.
-Okay. -[jenny] there... Yeah, there's no way.
Mmm-hmm. I see. Okay.
-All right. Well, you take care. -[jenny] good to hear from ya.
-Yup, bye-bye. -[jenny] yup, bye.
Oh [bleep]
there's one other guy I wanna talk to.
[phone rings]
[man] hello?
Vernon adkison calling from nome.
[man] oh, hey, what's going on?
At this point, I'm going through...
I'm going down the list pretty quickly.
On a scale of one to ten,
what would you rate yourself as a mechanic?
-[man] six, six or seven. -Six?
I don't know.
I might end up with a b team or a c team.
I'm not gonna just take any jackweed
that jumps out of the bushes.
[man] I can't do any computerized.
Oh, okay. All right.
Don't tell me more information than I need,
I'm gonna [bleep] you said six or seven.
Now, as a diver, a gold diver
what would you rate yourself at?
[man] on a scale of one to ten?
Yeah.
[man] uh, a nine.
Are you sure about that?
[man] uh, yeah, vernon.
I used to work in the gulf of mexico
like...
Okay, that's enough. That's enough.
I got... I got your drip. I got your drip.
All right. If you come up here,
we'll give you a shot diving.
[man] okay. And I got to stay within 33 feet,
there's no hyperbaric chamber in nome.
And if I could... If I could vent one more time,
it's gonna kill me.
Okay.
You can't get him to [bleep] shut up.
Once he starts talking, he won't shut up.
So, okay. All right.
Good luck. Just... Let's just keep it simple.
I've got a bunch of [bleep] going here.
Do you think you're coming up here or not?
If you are, then maybe I'll hold a slot for you.
[man] yes, yes. Yeah. Okay. Well, vernon,
you know what, don't hold anything
because I think there's a couple of dredges
for sale up there.
-And... -Okay.
All right. Well, I won't.
I mean, that's fine, if you wanna buy your own rig.
[man] but I'll give you a call when I get up there.
[man] I'll touch base with you as soon as I land.
So what good is that gonna do me?
I mean, if you're not gonna dive,
then I'm not following you.
So I can't count you out as a diver,
is that what you're saying?
-[man] yeah. -Okay.
[man] I'll go discuss it with my wife.
[bleep]
there's no one interested in getting rich,
highest prices ever for gold
on one of the hottest claims in town.
And I can't get any good divers.
I'm sure some other people would pop out of the woodwork,
as a matter of fact, I got some...
More numbers I can call.
No one's indispensable.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] claims on the largest offshore gold deposit
in the world are getting put up for sale,
sparking an onslaught of renegade miners to nome
all scrambling for their chance
to get rich quick.
And on the outskirts of town...
[steve] price of gold is up, up, up.
So I'm back. I'm back, back, back.
Everything's on the table.
Everything and anything is on the table.
[narrator] an outlaw prospector
is looking to put the pieces together
for his run on the gold.
[steve] I need wheels. I need wheels.
This is the perfect place though.
[narrator] like for instance, a trusty steed
to get him far and wide.
[steve] man, look at this place, man.
Just wheelers everywhere, here, there,
the dead dredges everywhere.
This place is like a graveyard, man.
I know there's a for sale wheeler around here.
This is... This is kind of like a nome used car lot.
Everything's for sale,
but no one's here to sell it
because they abandoned them.
So, there's all manner of wheelers,
pieces, parts, old dredges.
Someone's got to have a wheeler for sale.
Nome is like no other place you've ever been,
we're pretty landlocked here.
There's road... A few roads going different directions,
but they don't go anywhere.
There's no bus and no one hitchhikes in nome.
I don't know. I need some wheels.
Oh, the gas, if it's, you know, going rancid.
No.
No, no, no.
My heavens, this place is rich...
With dead wheelers.
Hey, look at this, this wheeler right here.
Yeah.
It's got to be a good one. It's up on the roof.
Huh, all right.
[car horn honks]
[steve] uh-oh.
Oh.
[steve] hey, vernon.
Steve, is there any particular good reason
why you up there on top of my conex?
You don't mind me being on your conex,
like, looking at your wheeler, do you?
[vernon] you are late this time. If you're ever late again,
that'll be the last phone call you'll ever get.
[narrator] vernon and steve have a long history
on the bering sea.
-Back off. -You...
-[steve] back off, mr. Vernon, the water. -Get off the boat.
-[steve] sir, I'm off the boat. -You're off the boat.
Okay.
You're off the boat.
[narrator] the old skipper even had the pleasure
of firing him in the past.
But what's up?
[steve] well, I'm here for the second gold rush
of the decade.
I need the wheeler.
Can't get anywhere in nome without a wheeler, nowhere.
Well, I mean,
take a look around, it's all for sale.
If you got the right kind of money...
Or gold.
[steve] gold?
Come on down.
I got the little jewel
you might be interested in.
Nome is a place where you can
kind of barter on your own speculation
about how much gold you can get.
So, you know, future gold...
Is like cash almost.
Okay. Well, come on over here and let me show you this.
Okay, I will.
Whoa. Nice.
So...
I was looking for a vehicle.
Maybe not such a nice one,
but that's more my price range.
And this is of course more my style.
All right. So what do you think, steve?
[steve] how about five and a half?
-How about an eight? -[steve] eight?
Oh, man. Eight?
Do you not need it?
You need to get rid of it?
I'm not using it.
I got it in the trade.
[steve speaking]
-[steve] I'm gonna get this. -Sat that down in the damn thing
and you are automatically handsome.
[steve] yeah.
I'll give you six ounces of gold for it,
thank you very much.
Woo-hoo.
[vernon] well, he knows I won't shoot him.
Or at least he thinks I won't shoot him.
I'm not worried about it.
There are no roads out of nome.
I'll get my gold.
[intense music playing]
[narrator] nome harbor,
7:00 am.
The summer starting gun goes off
sending waves through the fleet.
[shawn] yeah, on our first day of mining.
It's time to go put some gold in the box.
[narrator] aiming to pull in 2.5 million dollars in gold
to expand his empire,
shawn pomrenke plays his first hand.
[shawn] see if we can find this whole river bed.
I know it's there.
[narrator] unleashing the christine rose
to reconnect with an underwater jackpot.
On our way up to the top cut,
first dig of the season.
We had a good ice season.
Now, we need an extraordinarily really good
summer season.
In the last season, we got into that old riverbed
and it was loaded.
Seeing if we can get on it,
put some gold in the box.
Wish I could just plant the christine rose
on the spot from this winter.
We could pull three to four times
as much gold out of those spots
with the christine rose versus diving,
but this old girl can't make it down that deep.
So I got a track it down
somewhere in between the beach
and those deep water coordinates.
It's a lot easier said than done.
We made it to the tomcod.
Now, it's time to find some gold.
[water splashing]
[shawn] here comes the first scoop of the season.
Well, I have to take a pan to see what it looks like.
[shawn speaking]
we're looking for a gravel,
and cobble, and heavy material,
lots of rocks, lots of gold.
An old riverbed like this
is what dreams are made of.
Hopefully it's as hot and close as it is out deep
because we know it's on fire out there.
That's why I'm itching to make this deal
out in the myrtle.
It's got a great big bucket
and it can reach 30 feet deep.
It's like a match made in heaven.
Not seeing it.
It looks like they're good stuff, but...
[shawn speaking]
until you see the gold in the pan,
then we don't run it.
There ain't no point in running dirt
with no gold in it.
There's a little bit in here,
but that's not gonna cut it.
We need to find that riverbed.
I'm not gonna leave the christine rose
until I get it on gold.
Dave's expecting me to bring over plans for the myrtle,
but I have to have gold coming in, that's priority,
and then I'll draw up the plans for the myrtle.
I have the most I've ever had at stake
before this season.
Tomcod claim,
find my dad out,
taking over the myrtle,
and I got a keep everything up and running.
We'll find that riverbed.
I'll find her gold.
This season's gonna [muted] kill me.
[machine whirring]
[suspenseful music playing]
welcome to steve riedel's weird, wild,
wonderful world of nome, alaska.
[tense music playing]
I got to do this sort like shake it out,
you know, get your energy out there.
Okay.
I'm out here at wyatt earp's old place.
Wyatt earp was the famous guy
who was the lawman at the o.K. Corral.
Then he came to nome in late 1800s.
He had places in nome.
He had this place out of town.
He had the booze,
he had the gambling,
and he had the ladies.
So when a miner came in,
no chance he'd be leaving with any gold.
Wyatt earp is the best example
of how to mine the miners.
He was a bad guy, in a way,
and then he was a good guy, kind of a hero.
Depends on your attitude towards nome, alaska
and what you think.
Cool, eh?
Here it is.
As you came in,
this lonely miner, a couple girls,
wyatt dealing cards.
It's still got wyatt's spirit.
It's kind of crazy.
This might've been wyatt earp's bed.
Imagine him, huh?
Girls would head up here every night.
What I found, look at this thing.
It's an attic. Maybe it holds some secrets, huh?
I'm gonna go up and take a look.
I'm up in wyatt earp's treasure land.
So far though, I found some of his pants.
He stashed and you never can have enough pants,
you know, when you're a gold miner,
you're always wearing them out.
There might be something here that's a treasure.
This might be wyatt earp's original wristwatch.
He was a badass. Look at that.
Look at the size of that thing.
Close up on the nails.
Stay tuned next time
for steve's weird, wonderful, wild...
Wow. Whoo.
Steve's weird, wild,
wonderful world of nome, alaska.
Woo-hoo. Nailed it.
[narrator] on the easternmost mining grounds in nome.
[engine revving]
[emily] the claim I'm looking for is about two miles
past the nome river.
Yeah, so we got the waypoint right here.
And it leads just south out in the ocean
of where my current position is.
I'm gonna stick around here a bit.
[narrator] before making the biggest investment
of her career.
Emily riedel is kicking the tires
on the first claim under consideration.
Claim four, largely forgotten.
But years ago,
a site that produced promising results
for a small handful of miners.
[emily] all right. Let see what we're working with.
I'm not really interested in following
the herd down west.
Everyone's going down there right now,
that's gonna cause,
you know, claim prices to escalate wildly.
I am definitely more interested
in checking out what's east.
The fact that nobody is working these claims
and I guess kind of abandoned,
I think I can get a good price in them.
So, it's absolutely worthwhile, at least,
you know, taking a look and prospecting
and trying to find something rich.
I don't know. This could show some nice gold presence.
And...
If you find gold here,
it means you're going to find gold out there,
most likely.
Lots of gold has been found
just a mile to the west of me.
So, it's definitely worth checking out this spot.
[narrator] the most promising sign in a beach pan
that gold is on the seafloor is...
Well, gold, specks of it, actually.
Barely discernable to most,
but to the trained eye of a miner,
enough to suggest fertile ground.
Also, the presence of heavy iron-based minerals
known as black sand
could mean a goldmine lies out yonder.
[emily] all right. Come on, ocean.
Yeah, I know there's a bit of a gold rush on at least
near the nome river some years ago.
So, chances are there's a reasonable
amount of gold down here
that hasn't really been picked over yet.
So, a lot of these claims
haven't really been explored too much.
But people have found...
People have found a lot of gold down here.
Ugh.
Yeah, not even a speck of gold on that sample.
Yeah, there's not speck of gold in there.
All right. It's disappointing.
All right. I'm gonna dig a little bit deeper.
This is a huge step I'm taking,
trying to buy a claim.
We're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars.
That money is gone if it's... Turns out to be a failure,
but not only that, the...
My operation isn't gonna be able to produce.
And that's gonna be a failure.
I just pulled a little bit of the material
off the top there.
Let's check it out a little bit deeper down.
[narrator] three miles west.
[upbeat music playing]
[vernon] welcome aboard.
We're going out for the first time today.
Got all the system checked out.
Everything seems to be working fine.
[narrator] after scouring nome
for the highest caliber recruits.
Vernon adkison has assembled what he hopes
will be his ultimate summer dream team
from the gold ship wild ranger.
We're gonna go out, do a test dive.
We'll see how you do out there.
I got full faith you'll probably do very well.
It's a first-class rig
and I want a first-class crew
that would try to run a class operation here,
uh, you know, I don't like any of that low-riding [bleep]
using profanity every [bleep] minute.
[laughter]
so if anybody's gonna do that,
that's gotta be me, right?
[man] you ready, vernon?
-[vernon] yeah, ready. -[man] okay. We're good.
[vernon] okay, here we go.
This may be a ragtag crew right now,
but sometimes, you find diamonds in the rough.
And these guys are hungry.
I absolutely like people who show driving ambition.
It reminds me of myself.
But mike and gary,
that's new gary, not old gary,
have worked with me before,
but then I got two new guys,
bryan and kye
that I don't know very much about.
I'll put these guys through their paces
and see what they've got.
Now, let's get ready to anchor up.
[boat squeaking]
[vernon] you know, bryan's getting good.
He's about ready to make some splash.
And I want something that... I need somebody
that knows how to communicate,
so we'd be out of work fast.
But this is the first time
he's...
Going in, in the ocean.
[bryan] let's get down there and prove myself to the crew
that I'm a capable diver
and can handle the cold water and handle the work.
This is trust building.
[vernon] bryan's first up.
He's done some dredging in the rivers and creeks,
but that's nothing compared to the bering sea.
This will be a whole new can of worms for him.
He may be crying for his mama before the day is over.
[kye] how are you doing down there?
[bryan] okay.
[kye] you can unhook the line.
[bryan] well, I gotta look around. See if I could find cobble.
[vernon] yeah, just poke a hole in that sand
and see if there's cobble underneath.
[bryan] there's cobble.
[kye] there you go. There you go. I see it.
[vernon] all right. That's real good.
Just incubate the sand and the cobble
and work right at the top of the hard pan
but don't go through the hard pan.
Bryan, be careful of your hands.
Don't get it caught between that nozzle and a rock.
[bryan] okay.
[vernon] he's moving some materials.
And I'd like to see him stay on it.
Bryan is down.
I've got the camera on his a mask,
I can see what he's looking at.
Now, he's handling the nozzle.
I can look at the box and see he's moving
a good bit material.
All right. So far,
I'm liking what I'm seeing out of him.
We got everything working the way it's supposed to
and getting everybody working together like a team.
-[bryan] totally in. -[vernon] feels good.
Like a duck on the water.
[upbeat music playing]
[barking]
[narrator] across town.
We're going down to norpac, chris...
Right now, we're going to go the norpac
to meet chris and talk over the plan.
See if the gold's in the water,
see if everything is taken care of.
And actually see what we need
for our system to work.
[narrator] a wild bunch of kellys make strides
toward the captain's plan to raid claims
on the remote shores of elim.
[kris] he told me the boat is down here
along the wall.
[narrator] first order of business,
a meeting chris has arranged with the skipper of the boat
that'll take them to the promised land.
-[brad] right there. -[kris] where'd you see it?
[brad] right there, the first boat.
Look who's here. It's dave mccully's truck
right there. That's not chris mccully.
I don't see even chris's truck here.
I just see his daddy.
[brad] his dad is here because his dad's [bleep] boat.
[andy] there he is inside the boat.
Do you wanna go talk to him?
[kris] yeah, I wanna go talk to him. Get me out here.
-[andy] all right. -Go talk to him.
Let's check what's going on, dude.
What's going on right now? Dave mccully is here.
He's supposed to be in the philippines,
so put the camera down and let me take care
of my thing.
I made a deal with chris.
It's his dad's boat. But it's...
Chris told me his dad was gonna be overseas.
And right now, chris is a no-show
and his dad is very much in town.
-[dave] yo. -[kris] hey, how are you doing?
Is chris around today?
[dave] I know he's out somewhere.
[kris] I was expecting to see, uh, other chris this morning.
-[dave speaking] -[kris] yeah, your kid. I was, uh...
Do you mind if I come and talk to you for a minute?
-[dave speaking] -[kris] oh, okay.
So you, uh, you don't really know me.
-I'm kris kelly. -[dave] kris kelly.
[dave speaking]
[kris] I'm brad's son. You know like the...
-[dave speaking] -[kris] yeah, well, you know him...
-You know him. -[dave] yeah. Okay.
[kris] so I, um... You okay... Like, the truth is,
I was trying to make a deal with chris this season.
I, um... Can I come in and talk to you
for a little bit?
-[dave speaking] -[kris] okay. Thank you.
I have suspicion that chris mccully
didn't tell his dad about our deal.
He was just hoping we were going to pull
this whole adventure off
before his dad got back into town.
It's kind of like a ferris bueller thing.
[man] can I come with you?
Yeah, come on.
So this could be a problem.
Uh, I was expecting to see chris today.
Um, I kind of was trying to work him a deal
where we were going to go to elim together
and prospect these claims,
probably start a new gold rush.
My kid was trying to make a deal with you, huh?
-Well... -How the [bleep] did that work?
I kind of thought you were in on the whole thing,
you know, you were coordinating.
I wasn't trying to take the boat without you knowing.
I kind of thought chris had this whole deal with you.
Well, you had a pretty shocked face...
Look on your face when you knocked on the window there.
Well, he said you were in the philippines.
You were going to be there for a little while relaxing,
-you know. -Surprise, surprise.
[kris] surprise, surprise.
Welcome back is what I mean to say.
I wish he had told me about it.
[laughing]
-we talked about it... -First of all, he couldn't even start this boat,
let alone to drive it to elim and back.
I didn't know that part either.
Um, yeah.
[dave] it's a really complex boat.
Nobody's driving it but me, guys.
[kris] no, I completely understand that.
So, really, what I need to do
is I need to make my deal with you.
[dave] I don't really... I don't know you.
I never met you before in my life.
So I can't believe you and my kid were planning
on taking this boat to begin with.
[kris] right now, my four-year plan trying to get to elim
is in the hands of a person that doesn't even know me.
So I'm gonna have to turn the charm up
to a hundred percent.
You know, I'll tell you little bit about the elim,
-about why I think there's gold there about... -I've heard about elim,
but I... You know, I know iron creek's got history.
So, yeah, there's potential down there.
I have a little prospecting rig called the sickle.
So it's six inches.
It's really light and easy to take care of.
I can launch out at your front,
couldn't be better for me.
I could potentially charter the boat to you.
But, uh, I don't know. You might not like the price.
You know, I'll make you a deal on some of the gold
we get down there.
Yeah, it's not cheap to run.
So, you know, it'd be 1,500 a day plus fuel.
[kris] okay. I thought I had a deal with chris, but it's okay,
you know, like, I'm not trying to rob anybody,
we will go down there together,
we will both make a lot of money.
I know you don't know me,
but money talks in this world.
You'll in the ground floor of a new gold rush.
-Yeah. -Okay. Thank you, man.
[dave] good luck.
I need to make a very good deal.
Dave has all the cards.
You know, it's dave's boat.
Uh, I'm desperate to go to elim.
If I don't use this boat,
this opportunity right now to make it there,
this whole thing is gonna fall through my fingers.
At least I got a boat
and we're still on our way down there.
Um, dave probably didn't know anything about this,
-um, so... -[brad] get it over with, dave.
So the deal is already sounding good then, huh?
No, it's... Everything's fine. We're just going to...
He's gonna be in charge, not chris driving the boat,
um, he wants like $1,500 a day from us
to charter the boat down there.
Yeah. It's gonna take everything
we made in ice season, dude.
[kris] well, there's nothing we can do.
Everybody has to be kind of happy,
that's what we're gonna do right now,
-kind of happy. -Okay.
[kris] it's all gonna work out,
let's just keep pressing forward.
So I want to, um...
I mean, there's like... There's a lot of projects,
like, little projects
that are bottlenecking into today.
We also can start painting the name
but we have to decide on the name.
Do you have... You've got... You've got a name?
I am superstitious.
I do believe that if you do not follow maritime tradition
in changing a boat's name,
uh, misfortune could befall you
in the future, for sure.
But I'm, like, transforming this sailboat
into something so completely new
and different from what it was before,
that it really requires a name change.
At one point, I was thinking
the, um...
Alchemist
because alchemist, like, make gold out of nothing,
that's kind of their deal, right?
But, uh, it's a little bit of a mouthful to say
because it's got a lot of syllable.
[sam] the alchemist?
Yeah.
What's the next one?
The necromancer.
Necromancer.
[zeke] that's a pretty dope name, dude.
The problem with that name is I think
that it might kind of freak some people out.
It's pretty hardcore.
-Yeah. -My other, uh, I...
Uh, I was leaning...
Kind of leaning towards black swan.
-[raven] ooh. -[sam] okay.
-The... -Why black swan?
A mathematician named a certain kind of event,
a black swan event, because what it is,
is an event that could not be...
In retrospect, seems like it obviously
should've happened, but nobody could predict it.
[raven] all right. That's pretty badass.
[zeke] I like black swan.
[raven] yeah, let's stick with black swan.
[zeke] black swan. Black swan it is.
[rock music playing]
[zeke] I christen thee the black swan.
The black swan is the perfect name
to signify what this new beginning
means to me and the beginning
of years of adventure.
[upbeat music playing]
[zeke] all right. I think we're good.
[raven] cool.
[zeke] dude, I love it.
Perfect. I love it, it's awesome.
-[sam] yeah. -[zeke] oh, yeah.
It's coming together exactly
how it looked in my imagination.
I can't wait to get mining again.
I know it's gonna work and I'm just eager
to get out there and do it.
-Thank you. -[raven] right on. Pleasure.
[suspenseful music playing]
[narrator] six miles south.
[bryan speaking]
[vernon] all right. We'll give you
a few more minutes.
[narrator] captain vernon adkison's
keeping an eagle eye on his first new diver
to see if his hired gun
has the skills to hit the bulls eye.
[vernon] he's comfortable doing what he's doing
and he's done it before,
even though not in the ocean,
he's done a lot of river dredging,
I think this guy can see the gold,
we'll probably gonna pull him in
and send our other new diver down.
So, guys,
why don't you go ahead and get outfitted?
I want everybody to get wet today.
So, uh, you get a taste of it too.
We're gonna go ahead and pull you out
and send the next man down,
come on up.
[bryan] coming on up.
Bryan did really well.
He followed instructions.
He was calm,
got a good head on his shoulders.
We'll see how it goes, man.
Hopefully make us so much money for a little bit.
That's the game plan.
[vernon] next up is kye.
He's dredged out here before,
but only on very small ridge,
the gold ship is, uh,
different kind of beast altogether.
The gear is bigger,
it's harder to handle.
So, um, hopefully, um, he'll be up to it.
He's gonna have to keep his eyes and ears open.
[kye] all right. Let's go.
[vernon] all right.
Go to work.
[kye] uh, it might be about three feet of sand
before you hit this rock.
Kinda need to make a big hole first.
You know, be able to see the bottom.
Oh, yeah.
I'm on the bottom now, um,
it looks like some gray clay,
some rocks stuck to it.
[vernon] okay. Very good. Very good.
This guy has done it before out here in the bering sea.
[kye] yeah. Oh, man.
[vernon] I think I'm gonna pull him up,
I'm confident he's a good diver
and so is bryan.
Yeah, he's good.
There's a bit of good depth.
I mean, we can tell you're comfortable under there,
you've done it before.
So we're gonna pull you up.
[kye] that's good.
You want me to cut it off?
Yeah. Yeah.
[kye] all right. That's good.
I'm coming back.
[vernon] okay.
Yo!
Pull in his umbilical.
Okay. Hang on.
We'll pull in your umbilical.
[mike speaking]
he hooked it up.
[mike speaking]
[vernon] okay. Stand by just a bit.
Kye, did you, uh, hook the line
onto the nozzle
so we can pull it up.
[kye speaking]
okay.
They're gonna lower the line
from the bow of the boat.
[kye screaming]
hook it up to the... To the, uh, nozzle.
[cameraman speaking]
[kye screaming]
[vernon] pull him up?
Pull him up?
-[cameraman] yes. -Pull him up.
Pull him up.
[kye screaming]
[vernon] wait, where is he?
He's not...
I'm not hearing him breathe.
Are you okay?
What's happening?
[mike] oh, man.
[vernon] what?
I don't know where he's at.
Where is he?
[suspenseful music playing]
[kye speaking]
[kye screams]
[cameraman speaking]
[mike] his mask came off with his weight belt.
Where is he?
[suspenseful music playing]
[vernon] are you okay?
What's happening?
[cameraman speaking]
quiet it down.
Shut it down. Shut it down.
[cameraman speaking]
[vernon] okay. He's at the stern of the boat.
Get him off.
[man] you all right, man?
Yeah.
Hey, uh, it might...
It might be easier to get up over here.
[dramatic music playing]
I'm good.
-I'm good. -[man] you good?
Yeah.
Yeah. Just give me a second.
To get all the salt water out of my mouth.
[dramatic music playing]
[man] bro, what happened?
[kye] started to come back up
and I heard vernon say
to hook the end up on the nozzle
so we could pull the nozzle up
and I completely forgot.
So swim back to do that,
as soon as I turned around
and kind of swim back,
water just came up all under my mask
and I couldn't even get a breath.
Took a mouthful of saltwater.
I came up under the pontoon, I was trying...
Had to get some air under the pontoon.
Man, that was alright.
[vernon] that was a heart-stopper.
Sorry, man, I didn't mean to get you guys...
Oh, no, I mean, I'm...
[kye] my weight belt's down there, man.
-Trust me... -[mike] we got it.
-We got it. -What?
-[mike] we got it. -How did you get down?
[mike] it was still hooked up to the mask.
It was... It was wedged against the mask.
[kye] wow.
Yeah. I... Man.
I got to shake that guy's hand,
I know that.
[vernon] well, a lot went wrong,
kye was getting water in his mask,
which is an absolute nightmare for any diver,
then he got tangled,
ended up losing his mask and his weight belt,
and, um, came to the surface
underneath the boat between the hulls,
thank god the cameraman was down there
to help him get to the surface
and he saved kye,
literally, saved his life.
If he hadn't been down there filming,
I don't even wanna think
about what would've happened.
This was a [bleep] close call,
it's a very close call,
it's unacceptably close.
We got to build some safety systems into this.
That will never happen again.
This was supposed to be a simple test dive
for the divers, but it turned out
to be a much bigger test
than I ever imagined.
Okay. Is everything secure?
-Yeah. -[man] noted, yes.
All right.
Well, these guys have proved themselves,
things didn't go particularly well today,
but, uh, we got the basics,
that means I can go to work,
start getting some gold, and paying bills,
and paying for this claim.
That was a, uh, death-defying experience
but I got a crew.
[kye] that's the closest call I've ever had up here, man.
So I'll tell you what,
it's something where you better have the gold bug
and the fever
or you ain't gonna make it, you know.
It's just one of those things.
You'll decide it ain't worth it
if you're not all about the gold, man.
You got to be about it.
And $2,000 an ounce right now,
throw me down there again, man, you know.
[man] steady?
We're probably...
We're probably steadying out now, man.
Yeah. Like I said,
I probably can't tell grandma about that one.
[laughs]
[narrator] as vernon and his posse
ride into the sunset
10 miles west.
-[suspenseful music playing] -[seagulls cawing]
[excavator whirring]
[shawn] digging, looking for this ancient riverbed
and I need to find it
because that's got all the gold
to make everything happen
that I need to happen this year.
[narrator] captain shawn pomrenke
is still guns blazing,
determined to hunt down the gold source
that'll jumpstart
his most ambitious season ever.
[shawn] I know it's right here somewhere
and I'm going to find it.
I'm digging a trench
across the tomcod claim
trying to find it.
Once we come across that channel,
then we'll start following it.
[suspenseful music playing]
oh, look at that.
Man, that looks like money.
I think we're getting close.
Looks like really good material.
It looks good,
smells good.
Definitely getting close to something.
The riverbed runs right through there.
It's gotta come out here somewhere.
Feels got into something different here.
Oh, there's some big boulders down here now.
That's usually a good sign.
All right, this is it.
Oh, look at that.
I think we found it.
Whoo.
There you go.
[engine starting]
[shawn laughs]
we're off the riverbed now.
It's loaded.
Instead of doing a 40,000 a day,
we'll would be doing 60, 70,000 a day.
And that's what we need to happen this year.
It's gonna make everything come together.
Get to myrtle,
pay off the old man,
make the payment on the tomcod.
Big year.
I had faith. I trusted my gut.
I knew we'd find it.
We're gonna get gold flowing in here,
and then I'm gonna focus on the plans for the myrtle
so I could get that deal done.
This is the year mister gold takes over this town.
[dramatic music playing]
oh, yeah.
Time to make some money, honey.
Hello, and welcome to another episode
of kris kelly's secret guide to successful mining.
Today, we're gonna be talking about mining terms.
You know, the things that come out in my mouth
that really don't really make sense.
[whimsical music playing]
yes, I know my writing looks like
it's for a three-year-old, but you know what?
I'm getting better.
This is the different terminologies
when understanding the bottom of the ocean floor.
So we have sand, then comes the cobble,
small rocks, big rocks.
Then you get to right above the clay layer,
the gold, the most important.
A pretty easy breakdown on what we're talking about.
[cheers applause]
so we're now gonna talk about gold terms.
My writing is getting better, huh?
I bet you're impressed.
[buzzer buzzes]
first on the list is placer gold.
Placer gold is the gold you get on land.
Ocean gold is rounded
because it's been beat up by the water condition.
Placer gold is more roughed, jagged,
fine gold looks like powder.
You blow the stuff and it will blow away.
Fine gold pays the bill.
[cheers applause]
my favorite is nuggets of gold.
Because nuggets of gold are like impressive.
You can show your friends like...
[producer speaking]
-no. -[producer speaking]
no. No. Keep going. No.
I've already driven to my...
Drawn too much.
-[producer speaking] -no.
And that's the end of kris kelly's
secret guide to successful mining,
talking about mining terms.
If you think you're confused,
imagine using the crap all day long.
[narrator] four miles east of nome.
[upbeat music playing]
[emily] all right.
Dig down a little bit.
See if I see another layer.
That looks better than this one.
[narrator] emily riedel is giving the beach
near claim four one last review
to decide if the juice
will be worth the squeeze.
[emily] I'm not liking this.
I'm, like, two feet down
with a shovel and I'm not seeing another pay layer
so I think what happened is, like,
the storm came and it reconcentrated
a bunch of heavies, heavy minerals.
And this is not gold-bearing
as far as I can tell.
I mean, I took a test pan,
I didn't see a single speck in there.
So let's see if I can't find something better.
Sucks.
I'm not listing anything exciting at all,
so I think I'm gonna kind of leave claim four
behind for now.
There's a couple of other options out here
that I... That I want to check out,
that are still in the running.
But right now, I have to stick
with what I know
and I need to get back to the eroica.
I need to make my season happen.
I'm gonna keep prospecting these leases
and hopefully making gold on 14
at the same time.
[engine revving]
[emily] yeah. Let's roll out of here.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] back in the harbor.
[kris] so our sickle will go right here.
10 foot long pontoons.
Right here, the crane will come over,
grab onto it and just swing it out.
[narrator] captain kris kelly has sealed the deal
for the boat that'll take them
to the promised land.
[kris] it's got two bunks.
A [bleep] kitchen
and I'm scared to even look at that bathroom,
but it's a hell of a lot better
than camping on the beach, let me tell you that.
[suspenseful music playing]
[kris] so maybe this boat is a little bit more like
the ss mill, but you gotta start somewhere.
This is probably the best plan kris has come up with,
to be honest with you.
[kris] ninety percent of my plans are pretty solid,
somewhat, you know.
Okay. Well, you know what?
That [bleep] half of my plans
is pretty solid.
This one is gonna work.
[narrator] on the other side of the dock.
[vernon] I didn't expect it to be quite so hair-raising,
I think, but, uh, I mean,
as far as I'm concerned, both of you check out.
[narrator] captain vernon atkinson
added two sharp shooters to the roster,
but not after a harrowing test dive.
[kye speaking]
thank you, man.
Yeah. I'm just glad you're okay, man.
-[man] dude. -Yeah.
[kye] like I said, thanks again, man.
[vernon] yeah. I knew I got all my all-stars together.
Now we can start digging into that new claim,
56.
All right. That's all for now.
Uh, anybody that's up for it,
I would buy dinner.
-[man] I'm up for it. -All right.
[man] always up for it.
[vernon] well, let's go to a...
A good meal sounds good right now.
[man] time for a beer.
[narrator] three miles north.
[shawn] there's a lot going on this summer.
Big payment on the tomcod,
buy my dad out,
and hopefully make a deal on the myrtle.
It's gonna take a lot of gold to keep all of that rolling.
[narrator] it's reign over the wild west...
This riverbed is not looking too shabby.
[narrator] nomes' top miner, shawn pomrenke,
gives his ancient riverbed the shakedown
to see if it's got the ounces he needs
to put him on the fast track.
[shawn] if there's any year to do it, it's this year.
[coby] definitely go time.
Looking pretty good.
-Now let's dry it. -[shawn] yeah.
I don't wanna leave dave waiting around too long
before I get him the plans for the myrtle.
He might just change his mind
if I leave him hanging for too long,
but I had to get to see our own gold.
[man] it's like a pretty good little pie, huh?
[shawn] first clean up kinda sets the whole tone
for the season.
This will give us a tale
of what of what this riverbed really holds.
-What do we got here? -[coby] yeah.
Twelve,
fifteen, sixteen ounces.
[shawn] 16.3.
Nice.
[narrator] with a record price of gold,
16.3 ounces
is worth over 32 grand.
[shawn] that riverbed is paying off.
All we can do is just stay on it.
There's still gold from the ancient river canal.
There is.
This is just the tip of the iceberg
when it comes to the riverbed.
We need to stay on it.
The next thing is I'm gonna draw up some blueprints
for this myrtle.
There's a new sheriff in town
and his name is mr. Gold.
We definitely found the gold there.
I'm gonna get those work on the myrtle irene.
I mean, if we pull this season off,
it's gonna be epic.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] six miles east.
[zeke] still coming.
It's not touching the barrels.
[man] oh, yup.
-[zeke] ooh. -[man] right there.
Ooh, buddy.
Oh, yeah.
[narrator] the black swan crew
gets their one-of-a-kind sailboat dredge
saddled up for its long ride to the bering sea.
[zeke] yes.
I like it.
[man] once you guys get a crib and strap
that we can hook on to it, let's take her
-to the port for you. -That's good.
-Appreciate it. -[man] yeah.
[zeke] the boat is on the trailer.
It's ready to throw in the water.
I can't wait for tomorrow.
This dream has been...
I mean, it's been brewing in my head
for, like, ten years and now it's finally happening.
I think it's, uh... It's after hours.
-Call it a day? -Call it a day.
[zeke] for me, this is what gold mining is all about.
It's about doing things with your own creativity,
your own ideas on your own terms
and blazing a new trail.
-Yeah. -There we go.
Perfect.
[zeke] seeing your dreams
is turning to reality.
[sam] this boat, it's super epic.
It needs a theme song.
I mean, we gotta have something to be blasting
while we're... While we're cutting through the waves.
[accordion music playing]
[sam] ♪ long gone ♪
♪ lonely conqueror I saw ♪
♪ stay strong I am ♪
♪ black swan ♪
I added a b minor in there.
[zeke] having sam and raven here, and the music,
people to play music with and them being creative
doing or making it art.
[sam] ♪ wanderers... ♪
[zeke] you can't just wait
'till your gold mining project
is like a success
before you can enjoy the environment
around you in the present.
[sam laughs]
-is that percussion? -[man] yeah.
[zeke] that's another reason that's really great,
having sam and raven, or my dad here is...
They're good at, like,
zooming in in the present
and making it dope.
[sam] ♪ oh, black swan ♪
oh, that's tiring.
[raven] it's pretty damn majestic.
[sam] it's pretty majestic, yeah.
[narrator] coming up this season.
[man] you're buying a claim?
[emily] it's time to look elsewhere.
Check on some better ground.
[shawn] after we redo it,
we should blow the christine rose
out of the water.
[man] sam, don't drop the sailboat.
[man] whoo!
We're sailing, boys.
[kris] this is the crown achievement of my success.
Perfect.
[man] oh. Whoa, woo.
[man] kris, we got a problem.
[man] several guys on the ridge with rifles
-pointing at us. -This is exactly
what I wanted to avoid right here.
[man] I never found one of these.
What's this?
[zeke] right now, I can't really, like,
move the upper right half of my body.
The situation... This is way [bleep] worse
than I thought.
[man] I'm seeing gold.
[shawn] oh.
Watch out.
[all shouting]
[emily] you got it, baby.
[shawn] a quarter of a million right here.
[man] this is the big league.
I finally made it.
[suspenseful music playing]